Coalbed
methane (CBM) is a potential green energy supply for addressing
the worldwide energy crisis. However, the recovery of economically
viable amounts of methane requires the application of production-enhancement
techniques. The greater effectiveness of enhanced coalbed methane
(ECBM) recovery compared to traditional pressure depletion and hydraulic
stimulation techniques has been identified in terms of higher CBM
recovery with minimal pollution risk and the ability to contribute
to CO2 sequestration. Gas transport behavior in a coal
seam is the governing factor for ECBM recovery, which includes sorption/desorption
and diffusion in the matrix and advective flux in cleats. The interactions
among sorption, diffusion, and flow indicate the complexity and abstruseness
of gas transport in coal. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is
to provide comprehensive knowledge of the gas transport process in
deep coal seams, particularly in relation to the ECBM process. According
to the review, the dual-porosity system in coal provides sorption
sites, and CO2 has much higher adsorption affinity to coal
compared to that of CH4. Gas adsorption capacities for
CH4 and CO2 are greatly reduced with temperature
and the presence of moisture and increased with pressure. However,
the adsorption capacity for supercritical CO2 decreases
with increasing pressure due to changes in the associated CO2 properties. Regarding the diffusion process, CO2 has
the highest diffusivity for its smallest kinetic diameter and the
diffusion capability may be reduced with the existence of moisture
for moisture adsorption-induced coal swelling. Seam temperature has
a positive influence on gas diffusion due to the enhanced kinetic
energy and, the effect of pressure on diffusion is still open to debate.
Upon sorption/diffusion, gas moves toward the cleat system through
gas flow, which is controlled by permeability and is in turn greatly
altered by gas adsorption/desorption-induced swelling/shrinkage effects
during ECBM recovery. With high chemical reactive potential, CO2 creates the greatest coal matrix swelling for its higher
adsorption capacity. Seam permeability increases with increasing injection
pressure due to the associated pore expansion and reduces with enhanced
swelling. Coal mass swelling reduces with increasing temperature due
to the exothermic nature of gas adsorption. Dewatering coal seams
increases coal permeability through the reduced moisture content that
provides more sorption places for CO2 adsorption. However,
this in turn may cause reduced permeability through the enhanced swelling
effect.
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